U.S. stock index futures opened collectively lower, with Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures falling more than 1%.

 

Early this morning, a full-scale slump! U.S. military opens fire! Iran's major warning.

 

Sudden changes have occurred in the Middle East situation.

 

In the early morning of April 20th (Beijing time), Asian-Pacific markets opened with all three major U.S. stock index futures plummeting, once dropping more than 1%. The precious metals market also fell across the board, with spot silver once plunging more than 2% and spot gold dropping more than 1%. Meanwhile, international oil prices surged sharply, with WTI crude oil futures once jumping more than 8%.

 

According to sources, on the 19th, a U.S. missile destroyer intercepted an Iranian cargo ship traveling through the northern Arabian Sea bound for Iran's Bandar Abbas port, opened fire on it, and disabled its propulsion system. Early on the 20th, a spokesperson for the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces warned that the Iranian Armed Forces would soon respond to and retaliate against such acts of piracy and armed robbery by the U.S. military.

 

In addition, there have been new developments in Iran-U.S. negotiations. According to CCTV News, on the 19th local time, Iranian sources stated that Iran has no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-U.S. negotiations. On the same day, U.S. President Trump posted on social media that U.S. representatives would arrive in Islamabad, Pakistan on the evening of the 20th to participate in the negotiations.

 

 

In the early morning of April 20th (Beijing time), all three major U.S. stock index futures plummeted. As of 06:40, Dow Jones futures fell 0.86%, Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.7%, and S&P 500 futures declined 0.74%.

 

The precious metals market also trended downward across the board, with spot silver falling 1.5% to $79.576 per ounce and spot gold dropping 1.1% to $4,783.8 per ounce.

 

International oil prices surged sharply, with WTI crude oil futures jumping 6.48% to $87.96 per barrel and Brent crude oil futures rising 5.68% to $95.52 per barrel.

 

According to exclusive reports from Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency cited by Xinhua News Agency on the 19th, the prospects for Iran-U.S. negotiations remain uncertain, and news about holding a second round of Iran-U.S. negotiations in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, is false. The news agency also posted a one-sentence message on social media stating that Iran has refused to participate in the second round of negotiations with the United States. The report notes that the U.S. side has put forward excessive demands and unrealistic expectations, with a constantly changing and contradictory stance, while continuing to impose a maritime blockade on Iran that is considered a violation of the ceasefire agreement and making threatening remarks, which have so far hindered the progress of negotiations.

 

The report points out that the U.S. release of news regarding the second round of negotiations is purely media manipulation aimed at pressuring Iran. Earlier that day, Iran's Tasnim News Agency reported that the Iranian side emphasized that as long as the U.S. continues its maritime blockade, negotiations will not take place.

 

Separately, according to CCTV News, on the 20th local time, a spokesperson for the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces stated that the United States violated the ceasefire agreement by opening fire on an Iranian merchant ship in the Gulf of Oman, dispatching several soldiers to board the deck, disabling the ship's navigation system, and committing an act of "maritime piracy".

 

The spokesperson warned that the Iranian Armed Forces would soon respond to and retaliate against such pirate acts and armed robbery by the U.S. military.

 

Earlier, Trump posted on social media stating that on the 19th, a U.S. missile destroyer intercepted the Iranian cargo ship "TOUSKA" in the Gulf of Oman that was attempting to break through the U.S. military's maritime blockade, opened fire on it, pierced its engine room, and forced it to stop. U.S. Marines have now taken control of the ship.

 

On the 19th, U.S. Central Command posted on social media stating that a U.S. missile destroyer intercepted an Iranian cargo ship traveling through the northern Arabian Sea bound for Iran's Bandar Abbas port, used its naval guns to fire on the ship's engine room, disabling its propulsion system. U.S. Marines then boarded and took control of the cargo ship.

 

"Iran is Prepared for the Resumption of Hostilities".

 

On April 20th, citing Iran's Tasnim News Agency, Xinhua News Agency reported that Iran is prepared for the resumption of hostilities and will make the enemy experience an unforgettable "hellish moment" if fighting restarts.

 

The report states that in light of recent U.S. military movements, including warship deployments, weapons transportation, reconnaissance flights, and air defense deployments, the Iranian side has judged that two possibilities may arise in the situation and has taken necessary countermeasures.

 

The first scenario is that the U.S. intends to use these military preparations to create psychological pressure in order to gain leverage at the negotiating table. However, just as such pressure and threats have failed to affect negotiations in the past, they will not work this time either.

 

The second scenario is that the U.S. is using fabricated negotiation narratives to cover up and deceive for surprise attacks on some Iranian islands. Over the past year, the U.S. has launched surprise attacks on Iran twice during negotiations while continuously claiming that negotiations were making progress.

 

The report states that Iran believes the possibility of renewed fighting is higher than that of continuing negotiations and has made full preparations for this. If hostilities resume and Iranian infrastructure becomes a target of attack, Iran will completely abandon certain restraints it has maintained in the Mandeb Strait and against energy enterprises and facilities of regional countries such as Saudi Aramco, Saudi Yanbu Heavy Industry Park, and the Port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.

 

On the 19th, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi held a telephone conversation with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, stating that the United States has continuously demonstrated treacherous behavior during the negotiation and ceasefire phases, highlighting the true face of the U.S. attempt to abandon diplomatic means.

 

According to Iranian sources, President Raisi and Prime Minister Shehbaz exchanged views on the latest regional situation, the Islamabad negotiations, and matters related to the ceasefire. He expressed appreciation for Pakistan's steadfast efforts to achieve peace and specifically thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz and Pakistani Army Chief of Staff Munir for their contributions.

 

President Raisi pointed out that the United States has continuously demonstrated treacherous, bullying, and unreasonable behavior during the negotiation and ceasefire phases. He emphasized that the U.S. continued implementation of provocative and illegal acts such as the so-called maritime blockade not only constitutes a flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement but also runs counter to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Such acts, along with threatening remarks by U.S. officials against Iran, will only deepen doubts about the U.S. sincerity in negotiations and further expose the U.S. attempt to repeat past mistakes and abandon diplomatic means.

 

President Raisi stated that Iran is committed to maintaining and enhancing relations with all neighboring countries, including those on the southern coast of the Persian Gulf, based on good-neighborly friendship and mutual respect. He expressed hope that these countries will learn from recent experiences, strengthen regional peace and security through collective cooperation, and stay away from destructive interference by external countries, especially the United States.